20 | NATIONAL WRESTLING HALL OF FAME & MUSEUM LATINO WRESTLING EXPERIENCE
Another successful California
wrestler, Paul Gomez attended
North Monterrey County High
School where as a senior in 1994, he
won a California State High School
Division One Championship at 112
pounds.
Fast forward to 2012 and Gomez accepted the
position of Head Coach at Northwest Tech College in Goodland,
Kan., where he will not only coach the Cougars but also serve as a
Spanish instructor.
Gomez first wrestled at the collegiate level at Lassen Community
College. There, he won the 1996 National Junior College
Wrestling Championship at 125 pounds, leading his team to the
national title, before transferring to the University of Nebraska-
Lincoln. Qualifying all three years for the NCAA tournament,
this Latino Cornhusker was an All-American his senior year, taking
eighth place in 2000. Although unseeded coming into the national
tournament, Gomez sailed through his first two matches before
running into second-seed Jeremy Hunter of Penn State, the eventual
champion. (Hunter, had defeated Gomez in the first round of the
NCAA in 1998.)
As a Husker, Gomez amassed a three year record of 55-29, at
the same time graduating from Nebraska with a major in Spanish
and a minor in Education. Says Northwest Tech Athletic Director
Rex Branum of his new wrestling coach, "Wrestling will be in
good hands with Paul Gomez at the helm, both athletically and
academically."
Wrestled 1996-2000
University of Nebraska & Lassen Community College
125lbs
PAUL
GOMEZ
